Founder members of a trailblazing community centre were hailed as “The Three Musketeers” at a reopening ceremony.

Hugh Paterson, Bill Miller, Jim Stevens and the D’Artagnan- Tony Riome received a Quaich, the traditional cup of friendship, at the official re-opening of The Carrick Centre, Maybole on Thursday, April 29.

Centre board chair Peter Lynn said: “I call them the Three Musketeers.”

Bill, who steered the project from a plan to completed building was “the driving force behind the project”. Hugh, another former chair was “the voice of reason”, Jim who’s just stepped down as treasurer was “ever present”, keeping the finances in order and Tony “volunteered for all the jobs nobody wants to do” and was “a tower of strength.”

Replying, Bill Miller said the centre was first talked about in 1999 and building only started in 2010.The pace of work accelerated and was given the final push when the Church of Scotland gave the project the loan to close the gap on what had already been raised and what was needed.

He said: “Since then it has been used by hundreds of people and organisations. It has done what the dream was at the beginning- been a church at the weekend and community centre during the week

“The Church of Scotland instructions were it was to be open seven days a week. We have done that and are very proud of that”.

He said; “My thanks to everybody from the bottom of my heart- you have made our dream come true.”

Centre manager Andrea Hutchison thanked everyone including the army of volunteers at the centre “for giving hours and hours to The Carrick Centre”.

Interim Minister and centre board member Paul Russell said the centre was “Very much the flagship of the modern church. This is where the future lies”.